A NEW VIEW OF THE WEATHER QUESTION. 291 



while the other is cold, one wet while the other is dry, all depending on the rel- 

 ative situation of low. 



In the past, before we had the facts of the present, this ridiculous pretension 

 was, perhaps, excusable, for then very little was known of the general weather 

 system — we were all ignorant of the facts that have been ascertained within the 

 past few years. The best that could be done was to judge the weather of one 

 year by that of another, and really the whole matter of attempted prognostication, 

 instead of being a thing of calculation was, and is, really, but a mere matter of 

 guess-work. In these so-called calculations much was figured from the moon, 

 when the moon is a most contemptibly insignificant force in the matter and has 

 about as much to do with the matter as it has with making people mad. Yet, 

 years ago, it was so firmly believed that the moon was the cause of madness that 

 this satellite of the earth gave the name to that unfortunate affliction of humanity. 

 No person now, however, will hold to the absurd idea that lunacy, even though 

 the name is connected with the moon, is in any way caused by the moon. As 

 explained elsewhere, the sun is the great physical force that makes our weather 

 system. The better we understand all the forces that go to make up the weather 

 system, make ourselves familiar with all the changes that occur in and constitute 

 the conditions that follow one another, the better weather prophets we will 

 become. We must necessarily keep in mind as much as possible the location of 

 low, for on this hangs all the information we seek, remembering that the wind 

 will always be generally towards the point of low barometer ; by bearing this in 

 mind we can approximate the location of low in relation to our locality. Then 

 we must note the extent of cloudiness and familiarize ourselves with the differ- 

 ent kinds of clouds, bearing in mind that the heavier the clouds and the more 

 extensive the cloudiness the more apt we are to get rain. If the wind is to the 

 east it shows that the centre of low is to our west and is approaching our locality, 

 although the centre of the storm may go either to the north or south of us. The 

 presence of low barometer is indicated by a closeness of the atmosphere, com- 

 monly called " muggy." If low is to the north of us we will have southerly and 

 generally warm winds, while if to the south of us, it will be (relatively) cold (for 

 the season) ; and, finally, to bear in mind the generally well-known fact that a 

 storm clears off with a west wind and a clear, or quite clear, sky. 



These points, noted and studied, will much enhance the correctness of our 

 individual weather prophecies, though the individual can never, for reasons 

 herein explained, rival the prognostications of the Weather Bureau, or foretell the 

 weather for any length of time ahead ; and it is doubtful if the Weather Bureau 

 itself can ever foretell the weather for any great length of time in advance, but if 

 it ever does it will only be after years of careful observations whereby it may dis- 

 cover certain changes (if such a thing exists) that take place at regular periods of 

 time, but these changes are so unlimited and can be of such an endless variety it 

 is very much to be doubted if they can ever be discovered to follow a regular 

 course that may be calculated for any great period ahead. Yet, even though 

 such appears to be a hopeless task, it should not hinder our labors in this direc- 



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